Top Gear: The Complete Season 19

Top Gear is an oddity as far as modern television is concerned. It shouldn’t be such a generally cool show, but it is. The trio of hosts: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are funny, charming, and have always come off as actually knowledgeable of the cars they profile. The show has garnered quite a fan base in the US over the years, with people who initially just tuned in because they like British accents finding a witty, smart, fun show about cars, something that was a bit lacking on US airwaves.

Season 19 puts Clarkson, Hammond, May, and The Stig behind the wheels of some absolutely gorgeous vehicles, from the Pagani Huayra to the Vauxhall Astra VXR. There are even moments of utter hilarity like Clarkson building a car smaller than the impossibly small Peel P50 and driving it through shopping malls and the public library. Throughout each episode, celebrity guests stop by the studio for a chat, and then they do a lap on the Top Gear test track. These test track laps tend to have their own share of awesome moments from Damien Lewis needing to be consoled after drifting around a snow covered track or Amy Macdonald destroying runway lights during her practice run. The commentary during the test laps is as fun as the rest of the show and nothing ever feels boring.

This season also contains a two part special that takes the hosts to Africa where they are charged with finding the true source of the Nile River. This challenge takes them all over Eastern Africa, through beautiful countryside and across a road dubbed a “Car Killer”. That road actually did kill one of their cars and led to a little high drama, but in the end it all worked out for them and they found what they were looking for (sort of).

A show like Top Gear isn’t for everyone, but it is a fun hour for anyone into cars or more specifically, British guys talking about cars. There is something genuinely cool about seeing a Bentley driving around a rally course, and something even cooler about rock legend Nick Fleetwood talking about his first car and the turmoil of his band at the same time.